Indirana

Indirana
Adult Indirana semipalmata
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Amphibia
Order: Anura
Superfamily: Ranoidea
Family: Ranixalidae
Genus: Indirana
Laurent, 1986
Type species
Polypedates beddomii
Günther, 1876
Diversity
12 species (see text)
Tadpole of I. cf semipalmata

Indirana is a genus of frogs, the sole member of the Ranixalidae family.[1][2] These frogs are endemic to the Western Ghats of India. They are sometimes known under the common name Indian frogs,[3] whereas the family may go under the name leaping frogs.[1][4]

Indirana represent an ancient radiation of frogs that diverged from all other frogs almost 50 million years ago. This has credited Indirana gundia as a status of one of the "Top 100 Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered Amphibians".[5]

Description

Indirana species are small and slender-bodied frogs. They are typically found in leaf litter or near streams.[4] The tadpoles have hind limbs and finless tails, and are able to leap away to escape threats.[5][6]

A frog from the Indirana genus

Taxonomy

The taxonomical position of the Ranixalidae, with Indirana as the only genus, is now well established,[1][2][4][7] but this has not always been the case. Traditional classifications place it within the subfamily Ranixalinae of the family Ranidae, along with the genera Nannophrys and Nyctibatrachus.[8] The Ranixalinae have also been placed under the Nyctibatrachidae family.[9] Darrel R. Frost et al. (2006) placed them within the family Petropedetidae.[10][11]

Species

New species are still being discovered: Indirana salelkari was discovered in the Netravali Wildlife Sanctuary in the Indian state of Goa and described in late July 2015.[12] Species included in the genus are:[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Ranixalidae Dubois, 1987". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  2. 1 2 "Ranixalidae". AmphibiaWeb: Information on amphibian biology and conservation. [web application]. Berkeley, California: AmphibiaWeb. 2015. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  3. 1 2 Frost, Darrel R. (2015). "Indirana Laurent, 1986". Amphibian Species of the World: an Online Reference. Version 6.0. American Museum of Natural History. Retrieved 7 August 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Vitt, Laurie J.; Caldwell, Janalee P. (2014). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles (4th ed.). Academic Press. p. 503.
  5. 1 2 "Gundia Indian Frog (Indirana gundia)". EDGE of Existence programme. Zoological Society of London. Retrieved 1 June 2014.
  6. ↑ Veeranagoudar, D. K.; Radder, R. S.; Shanbhag, B. A.; Saidapur, S. K. (2009). "Jumping behavior of semiterrestrial tadpoles of Indirana beddomii (Günth.): relative importance of tail and body size". Journal of Herpetology. 43 (4): 680–684. doi:10.1670/08-158.1.
  7. ↑ Blackburn, D.C.; Wake, D.B. (2011). "Class Amphibia Gray, 1825. In: Zhang, Z.-Q. (Ed.) Animal biodiversity: An outline of higher-level classification and survey of taxonomic richness" (PDF). Zootaxa. 3148: 39–55.
  8. ↑ George R. Zug; Laurie J. Vitt; Janalee P. Caldwell (2001). Herpetology: An Introductory Biology of Amphibians and Reptiles. Academic Press. p. 430. ISBN 978-0-12-782622-6.
  9. ↑ "Ranixalinae". ZipCodeZoo, BayScience Foundation, Inc. Retrieved March 6, 2012.
  10. ↑ Frost, D. R.; Grant, T.; Faivovich, J. N.; Bain, R. H.; Haas, A.; Haddad, C. L. F. B.; De Sá, R. O.; Channing, A.; Wilkinson, M.; Donnellan, S. C.; Raxworthy, C. J.; Campbell, J. A.; Blotto, B. L.; Moler, P.; Drewes, R. C.; Nussbaum, R. A.; Lynch, J. D.; Green, D. M.; Wheeler, W. C. (2006). "The Amphibian Tree of Life". Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History. 297: 1–291. doi:10.1206/0003-0090(2006)297[0001:TATOL]2.0.CO;2. hdl:2246/5781.
  11. ↑ Michael F. Barej; Mark-Oliver Rödel; Legrand Nono Gonwouo; Olivier S.G. Pauwels; Wolfgang Böhme; Andreas Schmitz (2010). "Review of the genus Petropedetes Reichenow, 1874 in Central Africa with the description of three new species (Amphibia: Anura: Petropedetidae)". Zootaxa (2340): 1–49.
  12. ↑ "Newly discovered frog species named after Goan forest officer". Business Standard. 2015-07-29. Retrieved 2015-08-02.
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